


O, Sister

by RonnieMinor



Series: Make Your Heart A Home [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Pack Family, Scott/Allison relationship, friendship fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-13
Updated: 2012-07-13
Packaged: 2017-11-09 21:38:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,249
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/458722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RonnieMinor/pseuds/RonnieMinor
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Lydia invites Allison to come and help with the Hale House renovation, it’s unexpected to say the least. </p><p>Allison and Lydia friendship fic/packfic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	O, Sister

**Author's Note:**

> Set post-S1, and ignoring S2. Also using a different time frame, where the gang is in Junior year and all the excitement of S1 happened in the fall, rather than the spring.
> 
> Set post S1 in canon terms. Set during the renovation that takes place in 'Out of the Ashes' in this verse. Can be read as a standalone.
> 
> Title is a changed version of the song of the same name by City and Colour (O' Sister)

When Lydia invites Allison to come and help with the Hale House renovation, it’s unexpected to say the least. For starters, the fact that the house is being renovated at all is pretty shocking – Derek Hale is not the kind of guy who changes his mind easily – although it’s less surprising when Lydia tells her that Stiles was involved. Still, Allison knows she’s kind of persona non grata with Derek, which she totally gets considering her background, the fact that she shot him a couple of times (which she feels pretty awful about, for the record) and that she just so happens to be the favourite niece of Kate Argent. 

Lydia waves away her concerns with a carefree hand and a raised eyebrow. ‘Don’t be silly! It’ll be fine. Besides, you _should_ be there – you’re dating Scott and you’re my best friend. You’ve more than earned a place in the group.’ 

Allison says nothing, knowing it’s best to keep her mouth shut when Lydia’s feeling this righteous and purposefully ignoring the way Lydia said ‘group’ instead of’ pack’. She fully expects never to hear about the invitation again though, so it’s kind of strange when she finds herself standing in front of the new Hale House, all sharp, new wood and large silhouette against the sky. She hesitates after Derek tells them all to come inside, but Scott gives her a smile that says ‘It’s ok’, and Lydia intertwines their fingers, tugging her hand gently as they head towards the house. 

Actually, it really is all ok. She keeps fairly quiet, but makes sure to say lots of nice, polite things about the house, which is pretty easy considering how good it looks. She tries desperately not to think about how this is all happening because _her aunt_ burned this house to the ground nearly seven years ago. Instead, she tries to think about how maybe this house can become a happy place again. She thinks about phoenixes – born afresh out of the ashes of the old – and smiles to herself, because it’s like supernatural creatures are destined to be part of her life no matter what. 

And afterwards, when they head down to the kitchen, she dashes out to her car and brings in the mugs she bought the day before, giving them to Derek with a small smile and a, ‘Think of them as a house-warming gift’. He nods at her, not smiling. She’s not afraid though, because she wouldn’t be here if he didn’t want her to be, and maybe this is her chance to make amends. 

Later, when she stops to let Lydia out at her house, her friend leans over from her seat to give Allison a big hug. ‘You did great’, Lydia says. ‘Really.’ Allison smiles back at her, because Lydia doesn’t bullshit about stuff like this and it feels good to know that she did well. 

‘Thanks Lyds’, she says. ‘See you at school?’ Lydia nods. 

‘See you then.’ 

As new beginnings go, it’s not so bad. 

* * *

Lydia keeps a close eye on Allison after the first trip to the house, because she’s a good friend and good friends look out for each other. Still, although she really _wants_ to tell Allison to be more vocal during the ‘discussions’ about decorating the house, she doesn’t push it, because another part of being a good friend is knowing when to push and knowing when to step back and let someone do their own thing. And Lydia wants to be a good friend, she really does. She’s never really had a close female friend before.

So it’s kind of altruistic and kind of selfish when she gets Allison to hang out with her and pick out paint while the boys are laying carpets and finishing the floors. Altruistic because she wants to give Allison a way to be part of everything without spending too much time around Derek – for the time being anyway. Selfish, because she wants to have some best friend time with Allison, and with Scott around so much it’s not always easy. 

Besides, everyone knows that girls have a much better eye for colour than boys. 

Later, when she and Allison and Stiles are carefully painting patches on the walls, Stiles says, ‘You know Scott’s got all pouty because you’re hanging out with Allison so much, right?’ 

Lydia smirks. ‘Yep’, she says, popping the ‘p’ with relish. Allison giggles. 

‘I can’t spend _all_ my time with him. I have homework! And parents who don’t like werewolves.’ She shrugs. ‘And I need girl time too. Actually, I need girl time more than I need to do homework.’ 

Stiles nods, making one of his usual faces – Lydia seriously does _not_ understand how that boy’s face works. ‘That’s cool. But your parents are still pretty weird about the whole werewolf thing, aren’t they? So how do you get away with hanging out with Lydia so much?’ 

Lydia smiles sweetly. ‘It’s because I’m a much better werewolf than Scott, so they don’t think I’m going to _maul_ Allison at the drop of a hat. Plus, I have perfect grades and all parents love me.’ Which is totally true – she’s like parental catnip, a quality which she’s worked hard to achieve it. 

Stiles grins. ‘You better hope Scott wasn’t listening in on any of this.’ 

Allison grins back, a twinkle in her eye. ‘Maybe he _should_ be listening in – he might learn a thing or two.’ 

And Lydia loves Allison so much for that. 

* * *

Actually, the amount Lydia loves in general Allison is a little overwhelming. She’s always been reserved with her feelings; always been known as cold-hearted and unfriendly. A lot of it stems from her parents’ divorce, and the need to protect herself. To be honest, it’s really not that surprising – or it wouldn’t be if anyone but Lydia knew how bad things had really got between her parents. Even back then she hadn’t been one to spread her personal business all over town. 

It takes Lydia by surprise though, because when she first introduced herself to Allison, it was because the new girl was pretty and had cute clothes. Allison would look good at the popular table, and everyone knows that two pretty girls are much more dangerous than one. Lydia’s reasons did not involve kindness, or doing things out of the goodness of her heart. 

The thing is, Allison is just ridiculously nice; so nice that it’s impossible to ignore. And ok, she’s kind of fixated on Scott and sometimes she’s kind of a bitch when she’s trying to do the right thing for the wrong reasons, but she is genuinely sweet and well-motivated. She _likes_ people, and she’s pretty nice even to the ones she doesn’t like. For example: Lydia making out with Scott. The strawberry blonde fully expected to be the target of several malicious rumours and maybe even a little sabotage. Instead, Allison did nothing more than frighten Lydia slightly with her archery skills and get her to go to formal with Stiles. All in all, it could have gone so much worse. 

Also, Lydia knows for a fact that Allison getting her to go with Stiles was as much about effectively becoming Stiles’ fairy godmother as it was about helping out Scott. Allison’s just like that. 

So although it takes Lydia by surprise, it isn’t really _surprising_ how much she loves Allison. Frankly, you’d have to be heartless _not_ to love Allison. And it’s nice, because Lydia’s an only child and so is Allison, so they fit together really well. Sometimes Lydia even thinks it’s a little like having a sister. 

* * *

Allison always wanted a sibling when she was little – an older brother, to be specific. She was lonely as a child, always moving from place to place, never staying for long, never having much chance to make friends. An older brother, she thought, would make everything better. He would look out for her; make sure that nobody was mean to her. He’d be big and strong and kind. He’d be her brother, but he’d be her friend too. 

As she grew up though, the desire for a brother morphed into the desire for a sister – someone who could lend her cool clothes and teach her how to do her makeup. Someone she could cry to about boys and mean girls, who would be wise and kind and teach her how to navigate through high school successfully. It was a pretty fantasy, but one she knew was never going to come true. She settled for her Aunt Kate, who wasn’t always kind, and whose lessons weren’t always good ones, but who was much better than nothing. 

Then she moved to Beacon Hills and met Lydia. Allison didn’t really like her to begin with, because Lydia’s kind of a bitch on the outside, all fierce intelligence and no patience for the imperfect. The thing is though, she’s actually fiercely loyal to the people she cares about; she’s brave and funny and didn’t deserve what happened to her at Peter Hale’s hands. Lydia is Allison’s first real friend; her first _best_ friend. 

Lydia helps her choose what to wear. Lydia gives her dating advice. Lydia is there for her whenever she needs a shoulder to cry on. She’s all the things Allison wanted in a big sister, but she’s more than that, because she’s human and sometimes, Lydia needs a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes she’s the one who needs to be advised and comforted and reminded that she’s kickass and awesome and so much better than everyone else. It’s kind of ironic that after years of wishing in vain, Allison got the sibling she always wanted – except it was a twin. 

And so they dance around Derek’s house to all the bright, bubbly pop music on Lydia’s iPod, and they make Stiles dance too, although he doesn’t take much persuading. They play-fight as they paint the walls and they giggle at Stiles’ painfully obvious thing for Derek, gossiping in corners and laughing like middle school kids as they walk past where Stiles and Derek are working together. 

They prance through Derek’s house, singing and painting and filling the rooms with new life. Allison forgets to be sad or worried when she’s with Lydia, because she’s having too much fun. In turn, Lydia forgets to be cold and distant and laughs and laughs and laughs. Together, they brighten up the Hale House just by being there. Then, when the day is done, they go home together to eat pizza and watch stupid rom-coms and paint their nails like they’re normal girls, who don’t know anything about werewolves and murder. 

Sometimes though, in the night, Lydia will crawl into Allison’s bed and cry quietly, because Peter still haunts her in her dreams from time to time. And then Allison will cry too, because she misses Kate so much that it hurts and it’s not ok to miss Kate at any other time but here in the dark, where it’s only her and Lydia. On nights like that they fall asleep together, arms around each other; two sleeping sisters. 

Of course occasionally they fight, because people do. Lydia is devoted to the point of clinginess, while Allison has a habit of forgetting other plans when she’s with Scott, and they both have a million more flaws on top of those. When it all gets too much, they shout and throw words at each other like weapons and work at opposite ends of the house, refusing to speak to one another. Usually Stiles goes to talk to Lydia, taking all her sharp words in the place of Allison and letting them roll off him like water until she’s done. They’ll end up talking about something research-related, or perhaps a school project, because they’re a pair of nerds. Regardless, it always makes Lydia feel good enough to apologise. 

Allison, on the other hand, ends up talking to Derek. It’s kind of weird the first few times it happens, because she’s still wary of her position in the group (because she’s clearly not pack yet) and he’s still working through a lot of issues. Over time though, they come to a place where they’re both prepared to try and move past everything that’s happened in the past. After that, they actually turn out to be something like friends, as Allison is too nice not to like and Derek is a really cool guy once you get past his brooding exterior. Allison (tentatively) talks to him about Stiles and Derek (equally tentatively) talks back. Scott is kind of in shock about the friendship, but he doesn’t really get a say in the matter. 

Anyway, the long and short of it is that the group works together to find ways to keep each other happy, and this is what happens when Allison and Lydia fight. Consequently, they’re never angry at each other for long. Besides, they’re the closest thing they each have to family, and both of them know that’s far too precious just to cast aside. 

Ironically, after prom and Allison and Danny’s ‘official’ acceptance into the pack (which nobody expected to be as awesome as it was), nothing really changes between Allison and Lydia. Allison is pondering it one evening as they sit up on the widow’s walk of the Hale House and look out across the forest. 

Lydia just smiles. ‘It’s simple’, she says. ‘You and I were already part of our own pack.’


End file.
